Gospel Reading: Matthew 24:27-33, 42-51 (RSV)
The Lord said to his disciples, "As the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of man. Wherever the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together.
"Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken; then will appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory; and he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
"From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates.
"Watch therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the householder had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have watched and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready; for the Son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
"Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master when he comes will find so doing. Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. But if that wicked servant says to himself, 'My master is delayed,' and begins to beat his fellow servants, and eats and drinks with the drunken, the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will punish him, and put him with the hypocrites; there men will weep and gnash their teeth."
How any Christian could read this passage and STILL worry
more about a football game than attending Divine Liturgy is beyond my
comprehension. The Lord has given us fair warning that we won’t know in advance
that the Lord is about to reveal Himself. It will be too late to repent. It
will be too late to confess. It will be too late to feed the poor or say your
prayers. It will be too late to take a shower and get to Church. As a flash of
lightening Christ will come. It will happen that fast and all we can do at that
moment is accept that our hearts will be judged for what they truly are. If we
spend every moment of every day filling our hearts with selfish desire, it will
be that selfish heart the Lord finds when He comes.
BUT....the Lord hasn’t come yet so we still have some time.
It isn’t too late yet to go for Holy Confession. It isn’t too late yet to feed
the poor and say your prayers. It isn’t too late yet to attend Divine Liturgy
every opportunity the Church gives. It isn’t too late yet. What are you waiting
for?
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